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Rod Roberts

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Rod Roberts of Carroll supports the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices that are up for retention votes in 2010 due to their verdict legalizing same-sex marriage earlier this year.

Roberts said he will personally vote “no” on all three who will appear on the ballot — Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices Michael Streit and David Baker — and will use his campaign to encourage Iowans to do the same.

“We need to send a message to the Iowa Supreme Court that they are accountable to the people of Iowa,” Roberts said. “The problem with judicial activism is that it thwarts the will of the legislature and of the people of Iowa. Next November, it is our duty as voters to let these justices know what we think of their judicial activism.”

Roberts has long been critical of the court’s April decision in Varnum v. Brien, in which six same-sex couples sued Polk County Recorder Timothy Brien for not issuing them marriage licenses. The court unanimously ruled that Iowa’s law denying same-sex couples the right to marry violates the equal protection clause of the Iowa Constitution.

In Iowa, Supreme Court judges are up for retention every eight years.